AUTHOR'S NOTE: A day late, I'm sorry...The name "Ahfernwort" comes from an ancient role-playing group started by "Blueberry-rah". The characters of Rosie and Tumbler are based on real people, and used with their permission.
Chapter 19: Ruins.
"The stones here speak to me, and I know their mute language. Also, they seem deeply to feel what I think. So a broken column of the old Roman times, an old tower of Lombardy, a weather-beaten Gothic piece of a pillar understands me well. But I am a ruin myself, wandering among ruins."
-Heinrich Heine
Aspen and Vervain had been travelling for a long time, before they finally reached Vervain's old warren, known as Ahfernwort. Most burrows and runs had collapsed long ago; only a few holes remained.
-"This is where you last saw that friend of yours?" Aspen asked. "How long has it been?"
-"Many seasons," Vervain answered. While he had expected to find the warren in such a state, he still felt disappointed and sad. This was one occasion where he would have preferred to be wrong.
-"Where do we go now?" Aspen asked.
-"We're not going anywhere until we have inspected this warren. It may look deserted, but that doesn't mean it necessarily is."
Vervain looked at the holes before finally deciding to enter the largest one. As he moved underground, however, he felt something touch his face, something sticky and clingy. He walked out tail first and ran through the field in a state of panic.
-"ASPEN! TAKE IT OFF! HELP ME!"
Aspen looked at Vervain in confusion. He had never seen the former captain so panicked before.
-"How can I help you if you run around like that?"
-"I don't care, DO SOMETHING!"
Aspen continued to look at Vervain, wondering what to do. Finally, when Vervain came close to him, he pounced on top of him. With his companion pinned to the ground, he managed to brush off the few pieces of cobweb clinging to the fur; Vervain sighed in relief.
-"Aspen, I just want to tell you..."
Vervain stopped abruptly. He was about to thank Aspen for what he had just done, but questioned whether that was a good idea. He had the reputation of claiming to be always right and better than everyone else. He never thanked anyone in Efrafa except the General, and doing it now was more than he could handle at the moment.
-"Get off me, you big oaf!" he decided to say instead. That was more fitting for the personality he tried to project.
-"I'm sorry, sir," Aspen apologized, "but it was the only way to get you under control so I could clean you up."
-"Right...you go first now, all right?"
Aspen walked inside the run, with Vervain following him. When they finally came inside a burrow, Aspen started to remove the cobwebs he had picked up along the way; Vervain had purposely sent him first to clear the way.
The burrow was not in good shape, but remained stable enough that the two rabbits' lives were not in imminent danger. In a corner, Vervain saw the body of a rabbit. She had clearly died many years ago, probably in the battle against the Efrafans. There was nothing left but the bones, faintly glowing against the dark burrow floor. Vervain gasped in fear, but tried to calm himself down to avoid making a poor impression on Aspen, who slowly approached the body.
-"What are you doing?" Vervain asked.
-"Licking the bones," Aspen said. "In respect for this unfortunate rabbit who lost the privilege of existing. And to keep the evil spirits away. I hope she's having a nice life in the Meadow, now."
-"Right...I'm not afraid of ghosts," Vervain lied. Was there really any point in keeping up appearances? He was no longer in Efrafa, so why did he still have to worry about his reputation? Why couldn't he just act naturally without worrying about what others would think of him?
-"Hey, there's been someone else here recently," Aspen said, pointing to another run which was strangely clear of cobwebs.
Vervain didn't think: in his mind, this could only mean one thing. He ran straight through the run and into the burrow it led to.
-"CHIBISCUIT!" he called out.
The creature in the burrow wasn't Chibiscuit, but Vervain only realized this once it had opened its eyes.
-"RUN!" he shouted as he bolted out of the burrow.
-"What's the matter, Vervain?" Aspen said as he walked towards the burrow, clearly not taking Vervain's warning seriously. When suddenly he saw a weasel, its mouth wide open...
Vervain ran for a long time until he was some distance from the warren. Only then did he remove the cobwebs from his face: he had been too scared to do it before. Suddenly, he realized that he was alone; Aspen was no longer with him. The idiot, why didn't he run? Vervain slowly made his way back to the warren. Hiding in the undergrowth, he looked at the weasel, who walked out of the warren and vanished into the night. Vervain could clearly see that it had rabbit blood all over its face.
Vervain looked at the sky. It was fu Inlé, and the moon was perfectly round. There was no point in staying there. He was no closer to finding Chibiscuit, and his travelling companion was dead.
-"No matter how hard I try to accomplish something, I always end up causing a disaster," he said sadly, but there was nobody around to hear him.
-"ATTACK!"
It was early morning. General Woundwort had spent the entire night teaching the rabbits of Cowslip's warren how to fight. It was now time for the final test.
The rabbits were once again paired up, and as soon as Woundwort gave the order, they pounced on each other. They fought very hard, inflicting wounds on each other, until finally some of them couldn't take it anymore and surrendered. Silverweed did not participate, however: as he was the smallest rabbit in the warren, he had no chance against any of the others. Therefore, he simply sat by the warren's main entrance, watching the others.
Woundwort looked at the events with satisfaction. His hard work had paid off: he had an owsla worthy of the name, and he could use it to defeat the outsiders.
-"Perfect. Everyone wait here for me."
Woundwort went back underground, to make sure he hadn't forgotten anyone. All the burrows he visited were empty, except Cowslip's.
-"WAKE UP!"
-"What's the matter now, General?" Cowslip mumbled.
-"I have successfully trained an owsla."
-"Good for you. Now if you will let me sleep..."
-"Sleep? This is no time for sleep. It's time to attack the enemy!"
-"Good luck with the war, General. When the traitors have been defeated, I ask that you bring me the ears of the two ringleaders, Hickory and Marigold, as proof that they are really dead. I shall hang them to the roots of the great burrow as a warning to future rebels."
-"What are you talking about? You're coming with me."
-"Very well. As soon as I finish this nap..."
-"You can nap after the outsiders are destroyed. Follow me."
-"Come on, General, surely the war can wait half a day?"
Woundwort placed his front paws on Cowslip's neck; the white buck could feel the claws.
-"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" he asked nervously.
-"Absolutely no choice at all."
Cowslip sighed.
-"Very well...
As soon as Woundwort allowed him to, Cowslip got up and walked out of the burrow, eventually making it above ground.
-"Owsla," the General shouted, addressing everyone, "now is your chance to help me achieve my destiny! We are going to war against an enemy who deserves no mercy! Onward!"
Cowslip, however, had slipped away from the group. He could see the farmer in the field further away, inspecting the destroyed snares and scratching his forehead in confusion.
-"I'm sorry," Cowslip said. "I'm sorry I failed you. It's not my fault. I tried to stop General Woundwort but he left me no choice but to show him where they were. Please forgive me!"
The farmer, however, did not appear to have heard him. Woundwort approached Cowslip.
-"What are you waiting for? You shall march next to me."
Cowslip had no choice but to obey Woundwort. As he was about to leave completely, however, he cast one last look at the warren, thinking about how it was quite a shame to leave this life behind.
Rosie was nearby, hiding in the grass, when she overheard the rabbits' conversation and saw them leave. She was horrified that everyone was going to war. She ran over to a nearby tree; her friend was asleep on one of the branches.
-"Tumbler, wake up!" she shouted.
Tumbler opened her eyes, stretched and yawned.
-"Rosie? What are you doing up at this time of night? You need sleep."
-"Come down. The rabbits are gone."
-"Gone?" Tumbler climbed down the tree trunk and ran over to Rosie. "Where are they going?"
-"I don't know, but Woundwort said they are going to war."
-"How terrible! War never accomplishes anything."
-"Who knows how many will die in the battle..."
-"Are they all gone?"
-"All of them. Not a single one is still here."
-"At least the farmer won't be snaring them any more. But dying in a battle is not any better than dying in a wire."
-"I wish there was something we could do, but I can't think of anything. They're all terrified of Woundwort, there's no way we could convince any of them not to fight."
-"I suppose we could ask...Frith to help them? I think that's what rabbits call Him?"
-"Let's do that. It's a shame we can't really do more..."
Tumbler wrapped her tail around Rosie, doing her best to avoid getting spiked. They remained together for a long time, watching the stars in the sky. After a while, three weird creatures, standing on their hind legs, came running by.
-"What are those creatures?" Rosie asked.
-"I'm not sure, but I've heard a lot of funny stories about them," Tumbler explained.
Moments later, a large, overweight human also ran by, but he tripped on a tree root and fell head-first into the warren's main entrance. He tried to get back up, but was unable to; his head had gotten stuck in the hole.
-"Does he show up in the stories too?"
-"He often does. He's always chasing the three."
-"Why?"
-"Because it's funny. He never succeeds, but it's probably for the best."
-"Perhaps we should help him? The three creatures he was chasing must be far away by now, there's no way he could be able to catch up with them."
-"You're right, Rosie. Let's do this."